Azerbaijani consulate opens in Dubai
In the summer of 2006, a consulate of the Republic of Azerbaijan was opened in Dubai, designed to provide support and protection of the interests of citizens of the country, to promote the development of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE, to perform the duties of a notarial service, to register acts of civil status and perform other administrative functions.
Pärviz Ismail Zadeh has been appointed Consul of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Reception of citizens is carried out daily except Friday, from 9:00 to 15:00, on Saturday - from 11:00 to 15:00. The consulate is located in the Deira district, on the Hor-Al-Anz in Al Khalili Building, office number 203. Phone: 04 - 262 4595, fax: 04 - 266 7830.
UAE Ministry of Labor adopts new resolution
UAE Minister of Labor Ali bin Abdullah Al Qaabi yesterday signed a new circular regulating the relations of employers and foreign workers in the UAE.
The resolution states that all foreign workers, except for certain categories, will have to receive special permission to hire in the Ministry of Labor. In addition to the existing labor legislation, some amendments to the articles regulating the relations of workers and employers were introduced.
The full text of the resolution can be found at www.mol.gov.ae
Dubai in facts and figures
The representative office of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing for the CIS and the Baltic countries published a number of key indicators characterizing the emirate's achievements in the field of economy and tourism.
• According to the Dubai Municipality, in the first half of 2006. The population of the emirate amounted to 1.241 million people, of which 73% are men (911 thousand people). Slightly less than a third, 27% (330 thousand people), are women.
• In 2005, real estate worth a total of 20 billion dirhams ($ 5.4 billion) was acquired in Dubai. The total number of transactions in this area is 4,000.
• Over the past year, 1,128 buildings were put into operation, the total cost of their construction amounted to 5, 57 billion dirhams (1.5 billion US dollars).
• In the first six months of this year, Dubai International Airport received 13.76 million passengers.
• 68 exhibitions and conferences were held in Dubai in the first half of 2006; 457.5 thousand people took part in their work.
• Now in Dubai there are more than 2.71 million telephone lines, 2, 3 million of which are mobile phone lines, the rest are fixed.
• From January to July 2006 The emirate imported goods worth 163.58 billion dirhams (44.5 billion US dollars), exports amounted to 50.57 billion dirhams (13.7 billion US dollars).
• In Dubai, there are 409 hotels and hotel apartments with a total fund of 40,000 rooms.
• In the first quarter of this year, the emirate was visited by 1.7 million guests, which is 7% more than in the same period last year.
ROYAL JET extends its horizons to Russia
Royal Jet, an international luxury air transportation company headquartered in the UAE, has announced its entry into the Russian market with high potential. The first performance of Royal Jet will take place at the Extravaganza exhibition, which will be held in Moscow from October 26 to 28.
“Russia is a very important market for Royal Jet, as demand for extra-class services is growing there every day,” said His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of the company. Statistics show that the number of tourists from Russia to the UAE is growing by about 16% annually. International exhibitions of such a level as Extravaganza attract customers interested in receiving high-quality services while traveling and wanting to get acquainted with the proposals of the providers of these services.
“We offer Russian customers a competitive, courteous and exclusive service. Given that 36 billionaires and hundreds of millionaires already live in Russia, Royal Jet’s capabilities in this market are hard to overestimate,” said Amman Balkar, senior vice president of marketing and sales.
The company's fleet today includes two Gulfstreams (G300) airliners, one Bombardier Challenger (CL300), one Learjet (LR-55) and four Boeing Business Jet (BBJ1) aircraft, two of which are equipped with VIP living rooms and bedrooms. In addition, Royal Jet provides consulting services to private jet owners, as well as provides a base for the VIP terminal of Abu Dhabi International Airport, where you can get a full range of services - from maintenance and repair of airliners to crew and on-board meals for all flights through the port of Abu Dhabi.
Dubai Airport offers travelers free internet access
Now all passengers arriving in Dubai or leaving the emirate through Dubai International Airport can use the wireless Internet - Wi-Fi for free.
Owners of laptops, PDAs and smartphones with the corresponding function, located on the territory of the Dubai airport, now have the opportunity to check emails and browse the web pages in the arrivals and departures halls, duty-free shops, cafes and restaurants of the airport. In the future, the airport management intends to expand the coverage area to all airport premises.
In 2005 Dubai International Airport has received 24.7 million passengers, showing a 14 percent increase over previous years. Airplanes of 113 airlines land at the airport. According to analysts, this year the number of passengers will increase to 26 million.
Aeroflot launches Happy Ticket Days
From September 14 to September 20, 2006, Aeroflot - Russian Airlines will sell air tickets for domestic and international flights at special rates for the period from September 21 to December 16, 2006.
Promotion conditions apply only to Aeroflot's own scheduled flights. An air ticket at this fare can be purchased at the airline’s own points of sale and at the offices of Aeroflot agents in the Russian Federation and abroad.
Tickets Moscow - Dubai - Moscow will cost only US $ 199, and Dubai - Moscow - Dubai - 930 dirhams (taxes and fees are not included, the number of seats offered at these tariffs is limited). Tariffs are valid for round-trip transportation. Transportation on routes can be started from September 21 to December 16, 2006, and completed no later than December 20, 2006.
The maximum period of stay at the destination is one month, the minimum is the rule of the next Sunday, which means that the passenger must return to the point of departure no earlier than the first Sunday from the day of departure to the destination.
Transportation may include more than two flight segments, for example Samara - Moscow - Dubai and vice versa, while the tariff for the entire route is defined as the sum of the tariffs published on each segment of the route.
For a ticket purchased at this fare, changing the route and refunding the ticket is not permitted. Changes to the departure and return dates (for any dates within the permitted start-end period of the carriage) are possible with a fine of US $ 100 or the equivalent in local currency for each segment. Correspondence of a ticket to a higher fare is not permitted. Discounts for babies up to 2 years old on international flights - 90% (without providing a separate seat), on domestic flights - 100% (without providing a separate seat), for children aged 2 to 12 years old - are not provided .
You can get additional information and book tickets for the Autumn 2006 promotion by calling the Aeroflot Information and Booking Center at 8-800-333-55-55, a telephone in Moscow (495) 223-5555, and a telephone in Dubai (04) 222. -2245.
Dubai police released official data on the number of illegal residents
More than one hundred thousand people were arrested in five years for illegal residence in Dubai. The Dubai police chief, Dahi Al Khalfan, said that according to official figures, between 103 and 2005 illegal residents were arrested between 2000 and 2005. In 2000, a special police squad was created to capture the perpetrators. Despite the small number of people in it, the detachment did quite a lot of work.
During this period, according to statistics, from 2000 to the end of 2005, about 79,000 people were arrested for illegal entry and stay in the country, about 13,000 violators escaped from their sponsors, and about 10,000 more remained in the country with expired visas.
A well-known international business school has opened in Dubai
Manchester Business School Worldwide, ranked 22nd in the Financial Time ranking, has opened its Middle East office in Dubai at the Dubai Knowledge Village educational complex.
The new center will support more than 100 distance learning students who have already entered the school from countries in the region.
Students will be offered educational opportunities, library materials, and the school’s regional office will also be located in Dubai, which will support students, as well as conduct classes with visiting teachers. The center will also offer Master of Business Administration (MBA) training for financial and business managers, as well as construction business professionals.
New rental car service appears at Dubai Airport
Passengers departing from Dubai Airport no longer have to worry about returning a rental car. Now it will be possible to leave it in a special parking lot intended only for rented cars, where representatives of the rental company will pick it up.
This service is currently only available to customers of 19 car rental companies whose offices are located at Dubai Airport. The parking is located at the level of the departure hall, next to the parking lot "A" and has at its disposal 38 parking spaces, two for each company, as well as an office building with representative offices of rental companies.
Ramadan this year will be marked by conversation for all
Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, which will come this year at the end of September, anyone who wants to, regardless of religion or nationality, will be able to take part in the traditional ceremony of conversation. Daily conversation ceremonies that take place after sunset and mark the end of Lent will be held at The Sahary Gate House, a traditional Arabic house located in Dubai's historic Bastakia.
Even before sunset, the guests will be told in the guest room of the house about the meaning of Ramadan and its role in the life of a Muslim. Further, according to all the canons of Arabian hospitality, guests will be offered dates traditionally used by Muslims to interrupt their fasting. After the prayer following the conversation, on the terrace of the house you can taste the dishes of Arabic cuisine that the locals prepare during Ramadan. Low tables and an abundance of pillows promise to add color to the evening meal. In total, a hospitable house is going to accommodate up to hundreds of visitors. According to the organizers, the events will help people far from Islam to better understand the deep traditions of the country and Islamic society as a whole.
Library in Dubai will make a bar
The Dubai library, which has existed for twenty years, will be turned into a bar due to its low attendance. The library, located in the Dubai Country Club, has more than a thousand books at its disposal, but only twenty people take literature from it a month. According to the club’s general director, maintaining a library has become unprofitable. The administration of the club plans to use the vacated room as a bar. Volunteers working in the library say that this is a sign of time - interest in books is declining, people do not have enough time to read. Books from the library will be sold at the club next Friday, proceeds from the sale will be donated to charity organizations.
$ 700,000 camel
A camel from a prize family was sold at an auction in Abu Dhabi for two and a half million dirhams (almost 700 thousand dollars).
As part of an international exhibition in the UAE capital devoted to hunting and horse riding, auctions were organized to sell more than 20 camels.
The camel, a descendant of the owner of many prizes of the camel Jabbar, was sold for a record amount of AED 2.5 million to Omani collector Naim Al Gilan. The auction began with five thousand dirhams, but soon reached millionths.
The organizers of the auction reported that for the first day, income from sales of camels amounted to 3,554,000 dirhams.
Drivers who leave cars with a running engine will be punished
A fine of 100 dirhams and three penalties in the driver's license - such a penalty awaits Dubai drivers who park their cars on the side of the road with the engines turned on.
According to police representatives, this behavior causes theft of cars and car thefts, the owners of which, having decided to save time on finding a parking lot, left their cars with the engines turned on.
It also caused accidents in a number of countries around the world when children remained in a running machine who could suffocate or suffer from games with the machine.
Dubai will take measures to protect the coastal zone
Dubai Municipality will take the necessary measures to protect the coastline and its ecosystem.
Officials announce their intention to take the necessary actions in order to prevent further disruption of the ecology of coastal waters. "We understand that the development of construction in the coastal zone of Dubai can harm the ecology of this area, and we are already taking the necessary measures to prevent such damage," said Isa Al Maidur, assistant general director for general projects of the municipality of Dubai.
The municipality will hold an international conference "Coastal and Port Design in Developing Countries" on February 24-25, 2007. "This conference will be a significant event for the Gulf countries, especially for Dubai, as currently there is an active development of the coastline," added Al Maidur, "engineers and scientists will draw a lot of useful information during the conference."
